Plane covering fastener



Feb. 7, 1933. E. H. wHxTE 1,896,130

PLANE COVERING FAS TENER Filed Jan. 50, 1931 INI/ENTOR.

Edwin H. White Ov *fwwcb ATTORNEY 5 removably fasten the 1' tion is to provide a new and improved fas- Patented F eb.7, '1.933

PATENTjoi-"Frca f EDWIN H. WHITE,` oF- BAIQTIMORE, MARYLAND PLANE CL'bVFIRaIIIIGk FASTENER Application led January 30,1931. Serial No. 512,438.r` y' tener of the character described whereby a plane covering, which may be of linen, cot-` ton, metal or any Vother suitable material,v

may be yefficiently fastened to a rib of the plane or any other suitably constructed member over its entire length by means of a plurality of bendable lu s or the like. Such a f fastener'has many a vantages over the fastening means now generally in use, many of which involve the use of tying cords, stitchings, buttons, and the like. The several lugs of the fasteners of the present inventionV may be suitably spaced so that the covering material may lclosely conform to the yentire contour of the wing section, as determined by the shape of therib. The fasteners may be cheaply. and' conveniently manufactured, and are readily and securely attachable to the rib, or if desirable, may be'made integral` with the latter. The same fastener may be used in connection with a second and successive coverings, should recovering of the plane be necessarf. An important feature is the ease with w ich the process of fastening may be carried out, according to the present invention.

'- readily understood by those skilled inthe Tothe accomplishment of this object and such others as may hereinafter appear, the various features of the present invention lrelateto certain devices, combinations and set forth herearrangements ofparts full v which will `be inafter, the advantages o art to which this invention pertains.

The various features of this invention willv be best understood from a consideration of the following description thereof in the light of the laccompanying sheet of drawing, which illustrate several preferred yembodiments of the invention.

In the said drawing,

Fig. lis a partial top plan view of an air-V foil rib or otherframe member, showing one form of fastener attached thereto;

. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along f line 2,-2 of Fig'l, and also* showing a portion of the plane covering;

Fig. 3 is a partial side View of the con. struction illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a partial top plan view of an airwt foil rib or other` frame member, showing a second modification 'of covering fastener; Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line y5 5 of Fig.y 4, and also showing a portion of the plane covering;and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, butillus.- trating a lthird modification of the invention. "Similar reference numerals refer to similar-2 parts throughout the several figures of p drawing. 70;

Referringnow to the drawing, reference numeral 1 indicates the rib Vor other frame member ofan airfoil ofa flying machine.. Mounted upon the said ribV 1 and conforming yin shape to the latter isthe metallic fastener '2., The material of rwhich the said fastenermay preferably be made is any metal, such as wrought. iron, or non-corrosive steel which may be bent a relatively large number of times ywithout breaking. Extending down.- m

wardly from each side of the fastener 2, and in spaced relation to each other, are a pluralityof tongues 3. Corresponding tongues 3 on each side of the fastener 2 are disposedr directly oppositeeacli other, thus enabling,mi

al bolt, rivet, or other suitable fastening ele-y ment 4 to be passed through each pair of tongues 3y and the rib member l, securely attaching the fastener 2 to thesaid rib member. Projecting upwardly from the body of thefastener2 are a plurality of seriesof teeth or lugs 5, as clearly shown in Fig. l. 'Theseteeth may preferably be formed by perforation or punchingoutfrom the body ofthe n fastener 2 to assume positions approximately 95 atright angles to the latter. While thelugs or teeth 5 are shown as being triangular in shape, it is obvious that they maybe made of this kor any other desirable configuration. The said lugs may be staggered y'as ystemmi I in Fig. 1, or they may be spaced or otherwise arranged in any suitable or desirable relation.

It is to be understood that, although but several teeth or lugs 5 are shown in the drawing, they nevertheless extend over the entire length of the fastener 2, as indicated by the dot and dash lines in Figs. 1 and 3. It is also to be understood that tongues 3 project downwardly from the body of the fastener 2 at intervals throughout the entire extent of the latter.

The method of attaching a fabric or equivalent covering 6 to the rib 1 or equivalent surface of an airfoil is as follows. The plane covering is placed over the upstanding teeth or lugs 5, and is pushed firmly down over the said lugs. rfhe latter are `then bent over into the bent position, as shown by the dotted outline of the lugs in Fig. 2. The covering 6 is thus securely, but removably, attached to the rib. Upon recovering the airfoil, the lugs are first bent baci; to their original upright position, the old covering is removed by lift` ing up to clear the lugs, and then the aboveoutlined procedure is again followed using the new covering. 1n view of the ductile character of the lugs 5, this procedure may be followed a number of times, if necessary, without need of renewing the fasteners.

In Figs. i and 5, a second form of fastener is illustrated. This fastener 7 comprises a flat sheet of ductile metal which is supported on top of the rib or framO member 1, to which it may be securely attached by means of a plurality of spaced rivets or other suitable fastening elements 8. Struck upwardly from the body of the fastener' 'Z are a plurality of series of teeth or lugs 9, similar to the lugs 5 above-described. Y

AIn using this form of fastener, the method above outlined inconnection with the first modification of the invention is followed. However, before the lugs 9 are bent over, a flat thin strip 10'of suitable metal is placed upon the covering G between the two rows of lugs, and t-hen the latter are bent over. The metallic strip 10 acts to protect the fabric covering from any possible destructive ac-V tion, such as tearing, of the lugs. It is obvious that any of the forms of the present invention may be used with or without the strip 10.

A third form of invention is shown in Fi". G. Here the `lugs or teethll are perforated or punched up from the material of the rib itself, thus eliminating the necessity of using separate fasteners, such as members 1 and 8 of the first two modifications of the invention.

iVhile I have shown several preferred embodiments of my device, it will be understood that various structural modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a plane structure of the character described, in combination, a frame member, a covering, a covering fastener mounted upon and conforming to the shape of said frame member, means for attaching said fastener to said frame member comprising a plurality' of pairs of tongues extending downwardly from said fastener on opposite sides thereof and bolt means passing through said tongues and frame member, said fastener having a plurality of series of upwardly projecting teeth of ductile material adapted to receive and be bent over upon said covering.

2. The construction set forth in claim 1, and a protective strip adapted to be interposed between. said covering and the bentover portion of said teeth. v

EDVVN H. Wfl-UTE. 

